Fastener



` Jan. 27, 1948.

E. w. LEHMAN 2,435,146

FASTENER Filed Dec. 15, 1944 INVENTOR. EUGENE W. LEHMAN ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 27, 1948 i PATE NT O F dl'f' ICE Y FASTENERy Eigenen.: Lehman', East Cleveland, ome. as. signorto The Cleveland Pneumatic Tool Cnl-N pany2n Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation ofOhof Applicationflleemberil, 1944i Serial Noffiittf` The present ,invention relates to; agfastener lfor temporarily holding. together perforated 'plates or sheets in perforate alignment, preparatory to the rivetingthereof.

An important object of the'. linvention. ist'opr`1A ducepa fastener or temporary rivetfwlfiichinay bereadily, applied toA andremoyed from the Work, the temporary rivet loeing` Constructed in a manner y forming .a simpleasssemblywhich.is strong, durableand. eflicient.

.Another object oftheinvention is lto'provide a .fastener capable lof..v securing. Iperforated metal sheets .together in .perfect periorate'alignrnent wherein the parts. thereof are. un.it le,di lin anmlanfv nier to .preclude separatedisengagement tlier-eofy should` the V.fastener brealrwhileA in luse or while being appliedtothewsheets. 4

A further object of the invention is toprovide a .temporary -fastener wherein there is employed a Spreadeff'ke mem-1991' f0.1' maintaining the legt? of the. fastenerout of c`ontact,the' fastenerbeing formed soasto permit movement of the legs re1- ative thereto Whilebeingheld in la unitaryassemf bly.

Other obects and advantagesl more or', less ancillary to the foregoing` reside. in thespecific construction and aggrouprnent. of! the .elements peculiar to this structure, as will becomeiapparent from a more complete examination vofhthi'sl speciiication,l v l .In the drawings.-

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view with parts in elevation f the .imrrved fastener:

Eigure 2` is a `view similar to lFigure" I `illustratine.. the .D9S1tion-assumedhy*thefastener dining itsinsertionin thework.;

Figure y3 isa similar view illustrating the fastener.inppierativepositiong' Figure .4 is av sideuelevational `View of )the fastenerirl Operativepostion; Figure. 5g isa sectional View taken substantially on lined-5cl FigureZ; Figure 6 is autopfplan view and Vside elevational View ofthe collar or` cap Whichismountedat'the upperen'dof theiastenen u v Befrrng no lhel daWIg '011 a 1119?@ deliledi description thereof, 'the newl and improved fasteneris generallyY designated by the reference numeral ID andncornprises a cup-shaped housing II formed at itsvupper end withlanV external annul'ariiange .I 2; and having its lowereencfl-l formed by a cross wall or base I3 Witha-wcylindrical'bore I4 extending Centrally, therethrough..

Slidably mountedwithin the housing II there is a retainer I5 which is preferably formed-cfa:

srlglepiecerof cylindrical material; This retainer I5yfis split Athroughout aportioniolits lenght as indicated :at I 6,. to. provideI .apairrof u legs 4rl-"l -;Which project through the central bore I4, Each leg I1 has its free end provided with a pointed foot adminis.

2..: I8 which forms van outwardly inclined lateral projection Y I 9 Vfor normally ven' gz ,gin g thelower face Of. the base I3; as ishbrnli ,Figure-1, Put. .Badarted to lengage the under sidjejof the workMas will be hereinafter.explained.: The centralmost,por-.l tion 30 of the retainer' I 5i is 'preferably Iof' agreater diameter than theflupperand lowerendsx there: ofs as Clearly. shwn-irathe drawing! andthe' uDI'JrEfr end is l. formed withalllannular l ange 2in which carries, a.' removable v, clamp 2 I. having: a down turned flang'e28. n Resting` on the innerjvface. ofi the basrenISqand extending downwardly betweenthe legs YI'I there is a spreadergenerally designated by theurefver-y encenumeral 22. This spreader. comprisesla head portion 23 :and .tail portion 24 which are respzee'v tively substantiallyxequal in widthv tothefportion 3!) and thelegs Ii'lrespeetively, as ymore clearly Shown infFigur 'Oithe drawing Thefspreader 22` further inclde'sjfoross. arms 25 which are maintained in .engagement .with the. inner. sur: face of the base I3Qand1^ when so "disposedfthe head land tail portionfsjjJaredlrleldbetween the legs Il. for. preventingV ifm/,ardi` lateral movement or theL feet. I8' thereof when .the fastener is in ujsllieet clampirieengaeemrit--j f. H I

In accordance Witligfthexpresent inventiom a in eanshas been provided for: ni ,ngthes 22 within@ .legjsll mamaria@ wp tive movement of the legs, yet'preyen separa tion of'these parte;y AS. .shown injFigure of the drawing', this means cornprise1s' an elongatedslot 26.A formed in "thehead '.DDlf?" .D .Of .the spreader and a pin... 2'," extending. nsverselr there throiuen The: pin12risearrl @by the regen and since the retainer l5. issp'lit'V throughout the major I. portion olf- .its length; itis readily apparent that movement of the. retainer relativeuto the spreader is .permitted :through this pin andlslot' connection. lllloreover, the slot 2Q is oi at: length1 that for i the.`normal position of.; the, f s tener shown'inFigure Itho-.upper end ofVJ e; slotv is .in veryclose v.proximity to' but not resting onfthe topofthefpin'l.. Thi'sconstruton does' not interferewith the proper operation the devicebut does servetn ,preventfthe ac dental Separation. Ofrrisifoil .Withl webpositie .l I.E asfwiuibe haeinafieilexpfan. j j interposed btweinfhe-pper! ne. 201 0i the.. retainerflardthe crss'yarms' 25ct .thesp "ad r Z'Zlthere is a compressionspring'.29.A This.spring 29,;-Sur-ro1iedeth-e fetairier' land has its... uppererld. locked-.through than. m. of'. thaliana@- Zf Said.- aege' :entering-:between'the impe-rl. pair of :Coils -0f the Spring as -Clfsarlv-.l-Slioiv., the. drawirlg-t Witnthe esprima held -ii1fthis-mrmerl its accidental removal from t efhoulsingIzis--preff veniee1- f j j The fastener in accordance with the present invention has been primarily designed because of its safety features. It has been determined from past experiences that workmen have been seriously injured by parts of the fastener being thrown out of the housing. This is usually caused by breakage of the feet when the spring is under compression, and the released energy of the expanding spring tends to throw the retainer out of the housing with considerable force. This hazard is substantially eliminated by reason of the spring 29 being locked on the retainer I5 through the down-turned flange 28 and also by reason of the interlocking engagement of the legs I'I and spreader 22.

In the operation of the device, the compression spring 29 active between the clamp 2| and the spreader arms 25 will normally urge the retainer I upwardly relative to the housing II, causing the lateral projections I9 of the feet I8 to normally engage the base I3 as shown in Figure l. In this instance, it will be understood that inward lateral movement of the feet I8 is prevented by the spreader 22 located therebetween.

The temporary fastener is applied to or removed from the work by use of a plier-like tool, the construction of which is well known in this art, one jaw of the tool engaging the under side of the annular flange I2 of the housing, and another jaw engaging the flange 20 of the retainer I5. Upon movement of the two jaws toward each other, the retainer I5 will be forced downwardly relative to the housing II by compressing the spring 29 and causing longitudinal movement of the feet I8 away from the base I3 and out of operative engagement withV the depending portion 24 of the spreader 22. The feet I8 are then free to be inserted through the aligned perforations 33 of the pair of sheets 34 and 35, as shown in Figure 2 of the drawing. It is to be understood that the legs I1 are formed of a material having a certain degree of resiliency and shaped to cause the feet I8 to spring toward each other when out of engagement with the spreader 22. The feet I8 when in the position shown in Figure 2 are of a diameter smaller than the sheet perforations 33. When the fastener is in the position shown in Figure 2 and the pressure exerted on the annular ange I2 and the flange 28 is released, the retainer I5, due to the action of the compression spring 29, will again be urged upwardly relative to the housing I I, causing the feet I8 of said retainer to be separated or moved laterally away from each other by the spreader tail portion 24. This will cause the lateral projections i8 to engage the under side of the lower sheet 35 for clamping the work between the feet I8 and the base I3. It is understood that the compression spring 29 is sufciently strong to hold the sheets 34 and 35 tightly clamped and therefore against relative movement. This position of the fastener is shown in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawing.

When it is desired to remove the fastener from the work, pressure through the plier-like tool may again be exerted on the fastener to compress the spring, as shown in Figure 2, in which instance theffeet I8 will again spring toward each other to enable their withdrawal through the perforations 33. This removal of the retainer, should the retainer not be maintained perfectly coaxial with the perforations 33, is facilitated by the outwardly inclined projectionsy I9 of the feet I8 simply sliding off the lower edge of the perforation of the lowermost sheet.

From the above description when taken in 00nnection with the accompanying drawings, it is thought to be readily apparent that there has been provided a fastener for temporarily retaining perforated sheets in perforate alignment wherein the compression spring is conned within predetermind limits on the retainer, and the legs and spreader are held in a united assembly. Should breakage occur at the feet I8 or the tail portion 24 when the fastener spring is under compression, the spring will be permitted to expand, drawing the legs I'I upward through the bore I4, until the relative position of the parts as shown in Figure 1 will be reached. Directly thereafter the rising pin 2'! will make contact with the end of the slot 26 in the spreader 22 and will threby prevent further expansion of the spring 23 which remains locked between the clamp 2l and the spreader arms 25, thus precluding any possibility of the retainer or spring flying out of the housing with sufcient force to injure a workman. In fact, there is very little possibility of either the spring or the retainer becoming detached from the housing or being thrown therefrom at all.

Although the foregoing description is necessarily of a detailed character, in order to completely set forth the invention, it is to be understood that the specific terminology is not intended to be restrictive or confining and it is to be further understood that various rearrangements of parts and modifications of structural details may be resorted to without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as herein claimed.

I claim:

1. In a sheet holder, a cup-shaped housing, the

' base of said housing having a central bore therethrough, a retainer having two laterally resilient legs extending through said bore, outwardly extending projections on said legs, a spreader having lateral arms resting on said base, a spring surrounding said retainer, means on the upper end of said retainer engaging said spring, the lower end of said spring engaging said spreader arms, said spreader having a longitudinal slot therein, and means fixed in at least one of said legs extending into said slot, whereby said spreader prevents accidental release of said retainer in event of failure of said retainer legs.

2. In a sheet holder, a cup-shaped housing, the base of said housing having a central bore therethrough, a retainer having two laterally resilient legs extending through said bore, outwardly extending projections on said legs, a spreader having lateral arms resting on said base, a spring surrounding said retainer, means on the upper end of said retainer engaging said spring, the lower end of said spring engaging said spreader arms, said spreader having a longitudinal slot therein, and a pin mounted in said legs and extending transversely through said slot, whereby said spreader prevents accidental release of said retainer in the event of failure of said retainer legs.

EUGENE W. LEHMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

